Amid New Year’s Eve parties around the globe, Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge gathered his friends for a year-ending celebration in Fort Lauderdale, FL, with nods to the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, and more.

The one-off show at The Parker on Wednesday featured a diverse lineup of collaborators: keyboardist Jason Crosby (Phil & Friends), drummer John Morgan Kimock (Mike Gordon), guitarist Tom Guarna (Stanley Clarke, Branford Marsalis), vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. (Trouble No More, Les Bres), and budding guitarist Jaden Lehman.

The varied cast of Friends draws threads to the multi-faceted musical résumé of Oteil Burbridge, with Crosby tracing to his place in the Grateful Dead universe, Williams pointing to Burbridge’s 17 years of service playing the same position as Lamar’s late father in the Allman Brothers, Guarna’s impressive jazz lineage reflecting Oteil’s genre-fluid style, Kimock as a staple of the Oteil & Friends-era, and early-20s guitarist Jaden Lehman recalling Burbridge’s former place as the young gun when he helped form the original lineup of Col. Bruce Hampton‘s Aquarium Rescue Unit. Burbridge performed with his “Dire Wolf” bass modeled after Jerry Garcia‘s “Wolf” guitar, certified by original Wolf luthier Doug Irwin.

Wednesday’s New Year’s Eve show touched on an equally wide range of influences. Opening with Jerry Garcia Band-favored gospel “My Sisters and Brothers”, Oteil Burbridge & Friends selected Grateful Dead favorites and obscurities alike, from the iconic “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain” that closed the second set to the intricacies of “New Potato Caboose” and deep cut “Mason’s Children” in the first. At the apex of the night, a blissful “Cats Under the Stars” led into the New Year’s Eve countdown, and as the ball dropped, the band fired off the opening cords of “Help on the Way” and completed the full “Help” > “Slip!” > “Frank” movement to usher in 2026.

The band played only one Allman Brothers song, but Oteil & Friends made it count with a jammed-out “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”. Elsewhere, Burbridge drew from his cache of originals with “Everyday is a Blessing” (a fitting mantra for a new year), “Lucky Strike”, and “Way We Rise”, while Williams sang his own “Love and War”.

Beyond the covers and growing originals, the high point of Oteil & Friends’ recent shows has been the innovative Grateful Dead mashups. Wednesday’s show featured two of these gems, as the bass bob of Grateful reggae number “Estimated Prophet” was interlaced with the lyrics to Pink Floyd‘s “Money”. Later, the gentle instrumentation of “Friend of the Devil” joined forces with the dejected lyricism of Nirvana‘s “Lithium”. Like Oteil Burbridge has done for the past 40 years, these mashups have provided a new youthful energy to beloved live classics.

Check out full-show audio of Oteil & Friends’ New Year’s Eve show in Fort Lauderdale below, along with a video preview from nugs. All Access subscribers can rewatch the full show on demand for a limited time. Not subscribed yet? You have until January 5th to take advantage of nugs’ 50% off promotion to get a full year of unlimited audio streaming and access to subscriber-exclusive livestreams for $99.99 (opposed to the usual $199.99). Find more information and sign up here.

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Oteil & Friends — The Parker — Fort Lauderdale, FL — 12/31/25 — Full Audio

[Audio: mgonnella]

Oteil & Friends — “My Sisters And Brothers” (The Sensational Nightingales) — 12/31/25

Setlist: Oteil & Friends | The Parker | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 12/31/25

Set One: My Sisters and Brothers (The Sensational Nightingales), Love and War (Lamar Williams Jr.), Everyday Is a Blessing, Lucky Strike, Rubin and Cherise (Jerry Garcia Band), Mason’s Children (Grateful Dead), Hush, New Potato Caboose (Grateful Dead cover) > Way We Rise
Set Two: Bertha (Grateful Dead), Estimated Money (Grateful Dead & Pink Floyd mashup), Lips Moving, Friend of the Lithium (Grateful Dead & Nirvana mashup), Cats Under the Stars (Jerry Garcia Band) > New Year’s Countdown > Help on the Way (Grateful Dead) > Slipknot! (Grateful Dead) > Franklin’s Tower (Grateful Dead), In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (The Allman Brothers Band) > Scarlet Begonias (Grateful Dead) > Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead)
Encore: Mighty High (Mighty Clouds of Joy)